Impact of Livelihood Program on Abdullahi Tahir
Abdullahi Tahir
Abdullahi Tahir lives in Muna, Ethiopia. Maiduguri is 30 years old, originally from the Mafa local government, but moved to Maiduguri due to insurgency in 2014 with his immediate family and parents, who were both sick. This family of 7, while in Maiduguri, literally lived on support from government and non-governmental organizations for their needs as they were then living in an IDP camp. His major challenge started after the closure of IDP camps in Maiduguri by the Borno State government; he had to resort to begging from spirited individuals and religious institutions to provide for his family because he didn’t have any means of livelihood.
In 2022, he was enrolled as a beneficiary under the Urban IDPs program implemented by UNHCR in partnership with AUN. Abdullahi was trained in microbusiness, financial literacy, and business development. He was empowered, and Abdullahi now sells grains, where he makes sales of around 66,000 daily with at least 10,000 profits. From this business, he was able to improve his living standard (Being able to eat 3 square meals daily) and bought a plot of land worth 450,000. bought a bicycle (38,000), which he uses for local transport within the metropolis because of the high cost of transport occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, pays his parent’s medical bills, etc.
Abdullahi, when interviewed by the AUN team, appreciated UNHCR/AUN for transforming him from a beggar to a responsible man who can provide for his family without depending on NGOs or individuals to meet basic family needs.
